By Amy Sienicki
 
June 22, 2009
 
JACKSONVILLE, Ore. - Oregon Trail cardholders can now sign up for organic food boxes through the Siskiyou Sustainable Co-op beginning in July.
 
This will be the very first time a community supported agriculture program, or CSA, will accept food stamps in the state of Oregon.
 
The SSC is a cooperative of 15 farms and ranches, mostly in the Applegate and Williams valleys. More than 100 families currently buy into the farms every season.
 
Starting this July, the co-op is hoping to add an additional 30 families that are Oregon Trail cardholders.
 
"We were really excited about providing food to low-income people. A lot of them are vulnerable populations like th elderly and young children and nursing mothers and pregnant mothers, who actually really need nutrient-dense food," says Maud Powell with the Siskiyou Sustainable Co-op.
 
The Siskiyou Sustainable Co-op offers a small share that feeds two people, and a large share that feeds three to five people. They drop off the food boxes to seven different spots throughout Southern Oregon each week.
 
For more information on how to buy a share, call the SSC at 541-899-9668.